When you are a child of West African parents and of a first generation raised in the West understanding Africa is about reconciling all the Africas you know. Guy Tillim’s photos can help you do this, they invoke feelings of being in flux, up and down and in the middle, of definitions in transition. Read our review of this riveting exhibition.
Don’t miss Kudzanai Chiurai’s forth-coming ‘State of the Nation’, a multi-media exhibition which proposes fresh ways of looking at the socio-politics of Africa today. It explores the African condition by juxtaposing the past and the present of a continent in the grip of violent civil wars.
Mark Kaigwa, recently back from curating the Africa Animation Film Forum at CinemAfrica in Stockholm, runs us through the new frontier in African story-telling. Here are some of the groundbreaking works of African animators and a shout out to the people behind them.
Kerry Washington’s new starring role alongside Jane Fonda in a film set in Congo, a hot new clothing line inspired by Xhosa initiation ceremonies, MI, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince and Brymo’s freestyle on Westwood’s shows… Pop the hood and have a natter with us on these stories and more
Back in Feb we told you about this collaboration between Puma and Nigerian/American fine artist Kehinde Wiley, which kicked off in Paris. Wiley created four original works of art inspired by three of football’s most decorated African players, Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast. Wiley painted three individual portraits of each player wearing the Africa Unity Kit, and then a fourth ‘Unity’ [...]
No one co-signed Phonte of Little Brother’s famous piss-take of black spoken word coffee house-type poets harder than me. Soon as they had the mic trust I’d be walking out. Because of those guys, I suspect I might have missed out on some genuinely gifted artists who could compose ideas beyond mythical black queens and their vaginas. At the time I was okay to take my chances.
A lady outfitted in a costume suited for the finest dandy. A girl carefully crops out her face as she snaps her nude body with her camera phone. A dewy-faced, wet-lipped American Apparel model. These are the images that have inspired Ms. Dawn Okoro. Vibrant, sensual, and human are the oil on canvas paintings interpreting glossy fashion ads. With her recent move to New York, the part-Nigerian law student turned contemporary fine artist, is swiftly gaining recognition in these mean streets, having recently closed an exhibition at Harlem’s Renaissance Fine Arts Gallery. We previously featured Dawn Okoro’s work on the site, but we decided to catch up with her, in an attempt to gain entry into the mind of the gifted painter.
For 4 days starting today 4 February 2010, Parisians can enjoy the results of a partnership between Puma and contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. Wiley was commissioned to paint portraits of Puma-sponsored African football stars Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast. He also did a fourth one with all three of them to symbolise African unity. All four portraits will be on exhibition at [...]
Nigerian artist Dawn Okoro has been steadily getting attention with her retro, empowered portraits of beautiful women. You can check out her work in person this today, January 29th at the Urban Pulse opening in Harlem. Renaissance Fine Art 2075 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. 7th Ave. @ 124th St New York, New York 10027 www.therfagallery.com www.dawnokoro.com
Dawn Okoro is an NYC-based, Texas-bred, Nigerian-American artist who specializes in sensual contemporary portraits with a retro vibe. Check out more of her work at www.dawnokoro.com
